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LIVE REVIEWS

Hong Kong International Jazz Festival 2018

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Hong Kong International Jazz Festival Hong Kong City Hall Theatre; Hong Kong Cultural Centre October 7-13, 2018 “There are so many beautiful players in the world... and so few listeners," announced Jerry Bergonzi somberly from the stage, to a smatter of chuckles. That punchline might be flipped on its head in Hong Kong, where there is no shortage of upmarket bars in the Central district programing at least some semblance of “jazz," but just ...

CD/LP/TRACK REVIEW

Joe Locke: Subtle Disguise

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Have we been dealing with two different Joe Lockes for all these years? To some, the vibraphonist presents as a technically adept and intellectually curious seeker, constantly pushing through to new levels of possibility and commitment with his music. But for others, Locke is a conduit to understanding the human condition. This is a dichotomy that obviously speaks to vantage points and perspectives, with neither understanding ringing false. And while the existence of said split isn't at all surprising when ...

CD/LP/TRACK REVIEW

Adam Berenson / Scott Barnum / Eric Hofbauer: Introverted Cultures

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On his 21st album, composer/pianist/electronic artist Adam Berenson continues his string of remarkable and unpredictable projects with Introverted Cultures. His early association with Paul Bley and a broad range of influences and interests have resulted in a harvest of creative music that shapes unexpected hybrids. Here we have a drummer-less trio for the first twelve tracks of this double CD and, in effect, three percussionists for the final eight. The first disc consists of relatively compact Berenson compositions and a ...

RADIO

Itamar Borochov, Doug Webb And Get The Blessing

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New releases from Itamar Borochov, Doug Webb, and Get The Blessing plus some previously unreleased music Thelonious Monk, rescued from a skip, are the headliners for this show. Also the intense avant jazz of Tashi Dorji & Tyler Damon, some Mingus and Joni, and other new releases. Playlist Itamar Borochov “Blue Nights" Blue Nights (Laborie) 00:00 Doug Webb “Ah Leu Cha" Fast Friends (Posi-tone) 06:39 Get The Blessing “If It Can It Will" Bristopia (Kartel) 13:38 Thelonious Monk ...

CD/LP/TRACK REVIEW

Elizabeth Woodbury Kasius & Heard: Flyway

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Elizabeth Woodbury Kasius burst onto the scene, or so it seemed, with Karibu (CD Baby, 2010) when, in fact, it was the leader's sophomore outing. Her debut, Water Music (CD Baby), was released in 2008 but seemed to fall into obscurity. The group Heard, who has shared the bill with Kasius on each release, has continued to evolve into much more of a collaborative ensemble rather than simply as a leader's namesake, and with the release of Flyway (2018), the ...

CD/LP/TRACK REVIEW

Connie Han: Crime Zone

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Connie Han, dressed in skin-tight leather, tosses back her long and lustrous black hair, then walks like a prowling cat to the piano. She sits down, doesn't smile, looks darkly at the keyboard. She pauses then starts playing a percussive riff. Lights! The band emerges from the shadows and falls in behind her. Han, aged 22, from Los Angeles, has been playing piano and dreaming of this moment since she was five years old. “Another Kind of ...

MULTIPLE REVIEWS

CTI on BGO

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"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." The echo of Charles Dickens' famous novel A Tale of Two Cities is suitable to describe the climate of jazz when Creed Taylor launched CTI. It was 1970 and acoustic jazz was in crisis. Following the invasion of rock, it had survived by becoming electric, but the question was if jazz didn't get lost in translation? To Taylor the mission was simple. He wanted to bring jazz into ...

PROFILES

Istanbul’s İKSV: An Intensity Beyond Cool

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It would be easy to get breathless, even giddy, about the range and schedule of cultural events organized by İKSV, the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (in Turkish: İstanbul Kültür Sanat Vakfı). One individual could not possibly keep up with its jazz and classical music festivals and everything else that's offered by İKSV. It brings under one organization something like the variety and aspirations of Lincoln Center in New York, the National Endowment for the Arts, commercial promoter Live ...

CD/LP/TRACK REVIEW

Greg Diaz & The Art of Imagination Jazz Orchestra: Begin the Agora

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At a time when many contemporary big bands are eager to brush aside the past and “break new ground," it's always a pleasure to welcome an ensemble that honors and espouses jazz tradition with no appreciable loss of savoir-faire or, well, imagination. Begin the Agora, the debut recording by saxophonist Greg Diaz's Florida-based Art of Imagination Orchestra, embraces a customary point of view that in no way encumbers the leader's resourceful compositions (three) and arrangements (all). In other words, this ...

CD/LP/TRACK REVIEW

Michael Formanek Elusion Quartet: Time Like This

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In the olden days of jazz, an album consisting of trailblazing instrumentalists akin to these performers may have been billed as Michael Formanek and his All-Stars instead of a band moniker. Nonetheless, the Elusion Quartet lives up to preconceived or implicit expectations. Consequently, the heavyweight lineup imparts an abundance of mood-eliciting and symmetrical works, along with other components for our psyche's to nibble on. As a premise for this session, Michael Formanek says he sought “a more ...